The influence of long-term inputs of catch crops and cereal straw on yield, protein composition and technological quality of a spring and a winter wheat

Under conditions of restricted nitrogen (N) input such as in organic farming systems, crop N uptake must rely on N mineralised from applied animal manure, crop residues and native soil organic matter. Scarcity of N may impede the production of quality grain for bread production, and input and retention of N in soil are therefore important parameters for soil fertility. Toretain N in the crop-soilsystem, catch crops may be grown in breaks between main crops where they provide a significant sink for N mineralised in late summer and autumn (Thomsen, 2005). In corporation of straw may likewise retain mineralised N by microbial immobilisation (Christensen, 1986) and will also directly add to the N mineralisation potential when the N supplied in the straw accumulates (Thomsen & Christensen, 2004). Under northern European conditions, winter wheat may generally be of lower quality than spring wheat, but winter wheat has a higher yield potential. When the N uptake is mainly based on N mineralised from either applied or indigenous soil organic matter, however, this may even out the quality difference between winter and spring wheat as the longer growing season of winter wheat may boost its N utilisation. Growing conditions are highly important for protein quantity whereas main lygenetic factors influence protein composition (Amesetal., 1999; Luoetal., 2000). Wheat grain proteins have been classified as albumins, globulins, gliadins and glutenins on the basis of their solubility (Osborne, 1907). Reverse-phase (RP) high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) allows the quantitative determination of these different flour protein groups together with single proteins (α5-, α1,2-, α-, γc-type gliadins, x- and γ-type high (HMW) and low (LMW) molecular weights subunits of glutenin) (Wieser & Seilmeier, 1998). The proteins can also be divided into polymers (glutenins) or monomers (gliadins, albumins, globulins) based on their aggregating properties. The polymeric proteins are critical for governing wheat flour processing properties, and their quantity and size distribution reliably measured by size-exclusion (SE) HPLC techniques have been shown to be important indicators of baking quality (Dachkevitch & Autran, 1989; Bateyetal., 1991). The aim of this study was to examine whether wheat yield and baking quality determined by chromatographic techniques together with rheological and chemical quality measurements could be improved by combining agronomic strategies consisting of wheat cultivars and long-term organic matter inputs. The variables tested were (A) a winter wheat and a spring wheat cultivar, (B) three catch crop strategies and (C) four straw incorporation rates

Hardy is (almost) everywhere: nonlocality without inequalities for almost all entangled multipartite states

We show that all $n$-qubit entangled states, with the exception of tensor products of single-qubit and bipartite maximally-entangled states, admit Hardy-type proofs of non-locality without inequalities or probabilities. More precisely, we show that for all such states, there are local, one-qubit observables such that the resulting probability tables are logically contextual in the sense of Abramsky and Brandenburger, this being the general form of the Hardy-type property. Moreover, our proof is constructive: given a state, we show how to produce the witnessing local observables. In fact, we give an algorithm to do this. Although the algorithm is reasonably straightforward, its proof of correctness is non-trivial. A further striking feature is that we show that $n+2$ local observables suffice to witness the logical contextuality of any $n$-qubit state: two each for two for the parties, and one each for the remaining $n-2$ parties.Comment: 23 pages. Submitted for publicatio

Multimedia courseware: Never mind the quality how much will it cost to develop?

This paper evaluates multimedia courseware costing techniques such as the US Airforce Interactive Courseware Method (Golas, 1993), CBT Analyst (Kearsley, 1985), CEAC (Schooley, 1988) and MEEM (Marshall, Samson, Dugard, & Scott, 1994) against the data from ten multimedia courseware developments. The Relative Error and Mean Absolute Relative Error (MARE) are calculated to allow comparison of the different methods

Quality-Of-Service Provisioning in Decentralized Networks: A Satisfaction Equilibrium Approach

This paper introduces a particular game formulation and its corresponding notion of equilibrium, namely the satisfaction form (SF) and the satisfaction equilibrium (SE). A game in SF models the case where players are uniquely interested in the satisfaction of some individual performance constraints, instead of individual performance optimization. Under this formulation, the notion of equilibrium corresponds to the situation where all players can simultaneously satisfy their individual constraints. The notion of SE, models the problem of QoS provisioning in decentralized self-configuring networks. Here, radio devices are satisfied if they are able to provide the requested QoS. Within this framework, the concept of SE is formalized for both pure and mixed strategies considering finite sets of players and actions. In both cases, sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of the SE are presented. When multiple SE exist, we introduce the idea of effort or cost of satisfaction and we propose a refinement of the SE, namely the efficient SE (ESE). At the ESE, all players adopt the action which requires the lowest effort for satisfaction. A learning method that allows radio devices to achieve a SE in pure strategies in finite time and requiring only one-bit feedback is also presented. Finally, a power control game in the interference channel is used to highlight the advantages of modeling QoS problems following the notion of SE rather than other equilibrium concepts, e.g., generalized Nash equilibrium.Comment: Article accepted for publication in IEEE Journal on Selected Topics in Signal Processing, special issue in Game Theory in Signal Processing. 16 pages, 6 figure

Satisfaction Equilibrium: A General Framework for QoS Provisioning in Self-Configuring Networks

This paper is concerned with the concept of equilibrium and quality of service (QoS) provisioning in self-configuring wireless networks with non-cooperative radio devices (RD). In contrast with the Nash equilibrium (NE), where RDs are interested in selfishly maximizing its QoS, we present a concept of equilibrium, named satisfaction equilibrium (SE), where RDs are interested only in guaranteing a minimum QoS. We provide the conditions for the existence and the uniqueness of the SE. Later, in order to provide an equilibrium selection framework for the SE, we introduce the concept of effort or cost of satisfaction, for instance, in terms of transmit power levels, constellation sizes, etc. Using the idea of effort, the set of efficient SE (ESE) is defined. At the ESE, transmitters satisfy their minimum QoS incurring in the lowest effort. We prove that contrary to the (generalized) NE, at least one ESE always exists whenever the network is able to simultaneously support the individual QoS requests. Finally, we provide a fully decentralized algorithm to allow self-configuring networks to converge to one of the SE relying only on local information.Comment: Accepted for publication in Globecom 201

Wasted Citizenship? Reclaimers and the Privatised Expansion of the Public Sphere

A large body of literature explores changes in the public sphere related to the transfer of services and activities performed by the public into the private sector. Less attention has been paid, however, to the privatised expansion of the public sphere. This article explores such a process in Metsimaholo, South Africa, where the municipality sought to bring landfill recycling into the realm of public policy through a public-private partnership. As informal reclaimers had salvaged recyclables at the dump for several decades, this contract amounted to an enclosure of the waste commons which dispossessed them of control over their livelihood and confined them to the informal economy. Countering structuralist accounts of accumulation by dispossession and top-down approaches to governmentality, the article focuses on how reclaimers contested these processes. It argues that before the reclaimers could negotiate with the state, they needed to mount an ‘ontological insurrection’ to counter their dismissal as mere ‘detritus’ and demand that the conception of the public sphere be expanded to include them as legitimate actors in the realm of public policy. While this may result in a reconfiguration of the public sphere, it is unclear whether it would challenge the current privatised nature of its expansion.RésuméIl existe une littérature abondante sur le transfert des services et activités du domaine public vers le privé. Cependant, la privatisation de l’expansion de l’espace public a été négligée. Cette étude analyse les processus sociaux de contestation par lesquels la Municipalité de Metsimaholo, en Afrique du Sud, a cherché à formaliser la récupération des matériaux recyclables sur la décharge publique de Sasolburg et à ramener ces activités dans la l’espace de la politique publique à travers un contrat signé avec une compagnie de promotion économique des noirs. Les récupérateurs informels ayant pratiqué la récupération sur cette décharge pendant de nombreuses années, cette tentative par la ville revient donc à interdire l’accès à cette décharge collective privant du coup les récupérateurs du contrôle de leurs moyens de subsistance. L’article défie la perspective structuraliste de l’accumulation par la dépossession et de l’approche paternaliste de la gouvernance. Cette étude analyse la résistance des récupérateurs par rapport à ce processus. Elle défend qu’une « insurrection ontologique » était nécessaire de la part des récupérateurs informels avant de pouvoir négocier avec l’Etat et contrecarrer le rejet qu’ils subissent comme les « détritus », et exiger quel’expansion de l’espace public les prenne en compte en tant qu’acteurs légitimes dans l’arène des politiques publiques. Même si ceci peut résulterà une reconfiguration de l’espace public, le fait que sa nature privatisée puisse être remise en cause n’est toujours pas évident

The impact of active workstations on workplace productivity and performance: a systematic review

Active workstations have been recommended for reducing sedentary behavior in the workplace. It is important to understand if the use of these workstations has an impact on worker productivity. The aim of this systematic review was to examine the effect of active workstations on workplace productivity and performance. A total of 3303 articles were initially identified by a systematic search and seven articles met eligibility criteria for inclusion. A quality appraisal was conducted to assess risk of bias, confounding, internal and external validity, and reporting. Most of the studies reported cognitive performance as opposed to productivity. Five studies assessed cognitive performance during use of an active workstation, usually in a single session. Sit-stand desks had no detrimental effect on performance, however, some studies with treadmill and cycling workstations identified potential decreases in performance. Many of the studies lacked the power required to achieve statistical significance. Three studies assessed workplace productivity after prolonged use of an active workstation for between 12 and 52 weeks. These studies reported no significant effect on productivity. Active workstations do not appear to decrease workplace performance

El papel de la educación superior en el desarrollo de la ciudadanía global en Eritrea

This study argues that there are important potentialities in the interplay between critical pedagogy and course content in Eritrean Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) for cultivating graduates who are prepared to act as global citizens. To understand whether these potentialities are being realized, an examination of HEIs' pedagogical practices is necessary. Thus, through document analysis and semi-structured interviews, this study asked, how do students and staff at Eritrean HEIs experience these institutions' pedagogical practices? Despite different challenges, the study concluded that Eritrean HEIs, through their use of mixed pedagogical practices that illustrate both critical and semi-interactive pedagogical experiences, are indeed equipping their students with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to act as responsible global citizens. Without generalization, the research to some extent can be considered as explanatory to other developing states and nation-states with similar conditions as Eritrea.Este estudio argumenta que existen potencialidades importantes en la interacción entre la pedagogía crítica y el contenido de los cursos en las instituciones de educación superior de Eritrea (IES) para formar a unos graduados que se están preparados para actuar como ciudadanos globales. Para comprender si se están desarrollando estas potencialidades, es necesario examinar las prácticas pedagógicas de las IES. Así, a través del análisis documental y de entrevistas semiestructuradas, este estudio se preguna, ¿cómo experimentan los estudiantes y el personal de las IES de Eritrea las prácticas pedagógicas de estas instituciones? A pesar de los diferentes desafíos, el estudio concluye que las IES de Eritrea, a través del uso de prácticas pedagógicas mixtas que ilustran experiencias pedagógicas críticas y semi-interactivas, están equipando a sus estudiantes con los conocimientos, habilidades y actitudes para actuar como ciudadanos globales responsables. Aunque sin poder generalizar, la investigación puede considerarse como explicativa de otros estados en vías de desarrollo y estados-nación con condiciones similares a Eritrea